Felipe Massa will be back behind the wheel of a Ferrari on Monday if all goes well at a medical check-up by doctors appointed by the FIA in Paris tomorrow. The Brazilian's return to the cockpit of a Formula One car would be 11 weeks and two days after being lifted from the wreckage of his Ferrari during qualifying for the Hungarian grand prix with what were initially described as "life-threatening" head injuries.

Massa, who has since had a steel plate inserted in his skull above his left eye, sustained a 160mph impact to his helmet when it was hit by a rear spring which fell off the Brawn driven by his compatriot Rubens Barrichello which was running ahead of his Ferrari at the Hungaroring circuit on 25 July.

After 10 days in the intensive care department of a military hospital in Budapest Massa was flown to Brazil in a specially chartered private jet, since when his determination to force the pace of his recovery has impressed all who have come into contact with him.

Having already limbered up with some testing on a kart in Brazil, as well as on the simulator at Ferrari's Maranello base, heis due to enter the next stage of hisrehabilitation on Monday morning when he slips into the cockpit of a two-year-old Ferrari F2007 at the Italian team'sFiorano test track adjacent to their headquarters.

Formula One regulations preclude any driver from testing a contemporary car on current tyres during the course of the world championship season. But sampling an outdated car is not prohibited. It is not ideal but it will give Massa enough data to establish whether or not he has lost the fine edge of judgment crucial to perform at the highest level in such a split-second sport.

Massa will be in Brazil for his home grand prix on 18 October to wave the chequered flag, following in the footsteps of Pele and the model Gisele Bundchen who did likewise at Interlagos in 2002 and 2004. It must be hoped that Massa will at least have his eyes on the conclusion of what could be the title decider, unlike Pele, who famously failed to carry out his duty. The world's most famous footballer was looking the other way when Michael Schumacher beat his brother Ralf by half a second.

US F1 have passed a second inspection test conducted by the FIA ahead of their debut next year. Question marks have been recently raised about US F1's viability, notably by Formula One's commercial rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone, and the FIA president, Max Mosley. However, the FIA deputy president for sport, Nick Craw, is satisfied with the work being done by the team after visiting their headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, on yesterday. The team principal, Ken Anderson, is confident the car will be unveiled in January prior to the opening race of the 2010 season in Bahrain in mid-March.